Germany began their World Cup preparations with a low-key 3-0 friendly win over minnows Malta on Thursday as striker Cacau scored twice to suggest he is the solution to his country’s problems up front.
The Brazil-born VfB Stuttgart forward netted either side of halftime with a powerful header and a well-timed strike for Joachim Loew’s team.
Both of Loew’s first-choice forwards, Lukas Podolski of Cologne and Bayern Munich’s Miroslav Klose, have struggled for form this season with just five Bundesliga goals between them.
PHOTO: AFP
Cacau worked tirelessly and nearly finished with a hat-trick as one of the few fringe players who took their chance to shine, but Loew was unimpressed by his side’s lack of goals in a far from impressive performance against a team who managed just one goal and conceded 26 in their own fruitless attempt to qualify for the finals.
“We came up short on goals, that was too few,” Loew said. “We created a lot good opportunities, but were too casual in our finishing.”
Germany were missing captain Michael Ballack plus their Bayern and Werder Bremen stars who are on German Cup duty this weekend.
Ballack’s Chelsea face Portsmouth in the FA Cup final at Wembley today, while Bayern take on Bremen in the German Cup final at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, but only Cacau and Hamburg SV’s Piotr Trochowski stood out in their absence.
Cacau’s forward partner Stefan Kiessling, who hit 21 Bundesliga goals last season, had a game to forget as he failed to connect with the ball on at least five occasions with the goal at his mercy.
This was a fairly poor Malta side, ranked 154th in the world, who welcomed back veteran defender Massimo Grima after a five-year hiatus, but the 30-year-old struggled for fitness and his side never tested the hosts.
“It was a very good experience for my team as they are not used to playing at this level,” Malta coach John Buttigieg said. “I am not quite satisfied with the result, as we conceded two goals through counterattacks.”
With the game won, Loew brought on 21-year-old defenders Mats Hummels of Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen’s Stefan Reinartz for their first caps, but Loew has already said they are part of a group who will not fly to South Africa.
“Some young players put in positive performances, but we now have to work very hard. As for our missing players, we must take it as it comes,” Loew said. “However, we will put in some good work in the two weeks before the World Cup.”
Cacau opened the scoring when Hamburg’s Dennis Aogo whipped in a cross and he powered home his header on 16 minutes.
Loew blooded Dortmund striker Kevin Grosskreutz and he used his first touch of international soccer to find Podolski, whose pass was smashed home by Cacau on 58 minutes.
After the match it was revealed Grosskreutz is out of World Cup contention because he needs a knee operation.
Valletta defender Kenneth Scicluna then tapped the ball into his own net to compound Malta’s woes and make it 3-0 on 60 minutes.
After this weekend, Germany will hold two training camps, one in Sicily and one in the Italian Alps, and they will face Hungary in their second warm-up game on May 29 in Budapest.
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